Recently there have been a few incidents that have me reconsidering that whole "boys are easier than girls when it comes to dating" wisdom that seems to float around. Today was another example.
Toast is really excited about going to the grocery store now, because two stores near us feature "little" shopping carts. They are just his size, and he LOVES to push his own cart around the store. It's a little hair-raising for me, but he's getting better over time. The first time we tried this he nearly ran down two old ladies in frozen foods....I had to physically run after the cart (bent over, of course, because the cart is two feet tall) and restrain him as he tried to madly push it into their galoshes in front of the ice cream. It's a wonder I let him at the things after that.
Before I continue this story I have to tell you that one of my pet peeves when grocery shopping is someone who leaves their cart in the aisle as they go to look for other things. I don't mean parked discreetly at the side of the aisle, I mean DIRECTLY in the middle so that no one can get around them. It's one of the things I hate most in this life.
So today when my son abandoned his cart in one of the main aisles in the supermarket to go pick up a girl, you'll understand that I was duly shocked.
To be fair, she was cute. His age, golden locks, pink jacket, Elmo in the shopping basket. Toast must have noticed the basket first because his pickup line was "I like your Elmo"...she was instantly smitten. They held hands. He asked her to go home with him. She said he needed to go home with her mommy. After some prolonged smiling and flirting in the checkout lane, they had to part ways. It was a little tragic.
I was laughing to hard to be worried, but I should note that this is the SECOND time he has attempted to use his powers of persuasion on young women while out in public. The first time had him holding hands and asking a SEVEN YEAR OLD to go home with him in his mama's car.
Mothers, lock up your daughters. Toast is on the prowl.
Showing posts with label daily. Show all posts
Showing posts with label daily. Show all posts
Tuesday, February 23, 2010
Wednesday, December 30, 2009
Billy Joel, you had it right
I went to a viewing at a funeral home yesterday. I don't like viewings. I think they are one of the most marvelously awkward situations a person can be put in. But I think it's necessary and right to go and talk to people when bad things happen. So I go.
The person in question yesterday is not someone I knew well at all. She is related (in a complicated way which is not pertinent to my story) to a man who is my uncle by marriage. She's not much younger than me, and I remember that as a child we would play often when I was at my aunt and uncle's house. I've seen her a handful of times in the past few years. She met Tiny Man at a family party, and also came to the funeral home and funeral when we said goodbye to him.
What strikes me and makes me feel this loss so deeply is how caring and how kind she was to me and to Tiny Man. The things she said to me after the funeral, in the few seconds I said hello to her, were among the most comforting and kindest things I heard that day. I was so very touched by her words. I was left with the impression that I had met few people in this world as caring as her. I was surprised not because I didn't think she had it in her, but because I hadn't seen her in so long; didn't know her very well at all, and here she was crying with me over my son. It stuck with me.
Her partner was diagnosed with a fatal illness earlier this year, and it is my understanding that she may not see the new year. They have a son, six years old, who will lose both parents to illness...sudden illness....in a short amount of time.
I am asking the obvious question: why?
I don't know why this is hitting me so hard, but I cannot stop thinking about the unpredictability of life, the way that it doesn't work out the way it's supposed to, and the way that it can be unfair. One of the things I hate about the holidays is that they can, and often do, bring out the worst in people. Stress, trying to live up to expectations we set for ourselves, dealing with family who we may not like: it can make someone crazy. You all know what I mean...you see it all the time in the woman who yells at the store clerk for no reason. The person who snips at you in line. Anyway....in the past few months I have seen and heard my share of drama. Some had to do with the holidays, some is just people who are selfish, egocentric, rude and classless. Do I think that they deserve to be the ones touched by tragedy instead of my friend? No, I wouldn't say that. But I do always wonder why people who seem to rise above it all...the ones who take life in stride...the ones who are kind and caring...why them instead? Because doesn't it always seem to be them?
I know that sounds terrible. And I know what it SOUNDS like I am saying...but really, it's hard for me to make sense of it. I'm not terribly religious, so I'm not going to get into the metaphysical side of all this, but I do think that there is an order and a reason to life. When Tiny Man was born we had a few people shake their heads and wonder aloud why hubby and I had to deal with this. My answer was and is always the same: because we were right for it. We love each other, we have families who love us and support us, and we were able to take care of him. We were right for him. We were picked. I'll never stop thinking that I was chosen to be his momma.
So is this the same? Is there a greater lesson here? Is there a reason for this tragedy? I don't know. I do know that I have learned some lessons about kindness and the way it touches other people, and I intend to put that to good use.
In the meantime, give an extra thought, whether it be a prayer or some warm energy, or just a moment of your day to these people, especially that little boy. He has family and will be well cared for...but my hope is that he has learned kindness and knows what kind of people his parents are and were. Let's hope that he grows up to be kind and strong.
The person in question yesterday is not someone I knew well at all. She is related (in a complicated way which is not pertinent to my story) to a man who is my uncle by marriage. She's not much younger than me, and I remember that as a child we would play often when I was at my aunt and uncle's house. I've seen her a handful of times in the past few years. She met Tiny Man at a family party, and also came to the funeral home and funeral when we said goodbye to him.
What strikes me and makes me feel this loss so deeply is how caring and how kind she was to me and to Tiny Man. The things she said to me after the funeral, in the few seconds I said hello to her, were among the most comforting and kindest things I heard that day. I was so very touched by her words. I was left with the impression that I had met few people in this world as caring as her. I was surprised not because I didn't think she had it in her, but because I hadn't seen her in so long; didn't know her very well at all, and here she was crying with me over my son. It stuck with me.
Her partner was diagnosed with a fatal illness earlier this year, and it is my understanding that she may not see the new year. They have a son, six years old, who will lose both parents to illness...sudden illness....in a short amount of time.
I am asking the obvious question: why?
I don't know why this is hitting me so hard, but I cannot stop thinking about the unpredictability of life, the way that it doesn't work out the way it's supposed to, and the way that it can be unfair. One of the things I hate about the holidays is that they can, and often do, bring out the worst in people. Stress, trying to live up to expectations we set for ourselves, dealing with family who we may not like: it can make someone crazy. You all know what I mean...you see it all the time in the woman who yells at the store clerk for no reason. The person who snips at you in line. Anyway....in the past few months I have seen and heard my share of drama. Some had to do with the holidays, some is just people who are selfish, egocentric, rude and classless. Do I think that they deserve to be the ones touched by tragedy instead of my friend? No, I wouldn't say that. But I do always wonder why people who seem to rise above it all...the ones who take life in stride...the ones who are kind and caring...why them instead? Because doesn't it always seem to be them?
I know that sounds terrible. And I know what it SOUNDS like I am saying...but really, it's hard for me to make sense of it. I'm not terribly religious, so I'm not going to get into the metaphysical side of all this, but I do think that there is an order and a reason to life. When Tiny Man was born we had a few people shake their heads and wonder aloud why hubby and I had to deal with this. My answer was and is always the same: because we were right for it. We love each other, we have families who love us and support us, and we were able to take care of him. We were right for him. We were picked. I'll never stop thinking that I was chosen to be his momma.
So is this the same? Is there a greater lesson here? Is there a reason for this tragedy? I don't know. I do know that I have learned some lessons about kindness and the way it touches other people, and I intend to put that to good use.
In the meantime, give an extra thought, whether it be a prayer or some warm energy, or just a moment of your day to these people, especially that little boy. He has family and will be well cared for...but my hope is that he has learned kindness and knows what kind of people his parents are and were. Let's hope that he grows up to be kind and strong.
Saturday, November 7, 2009
"helpful"
Took a quick trip to Michael's today to get some Christmas scrapbook supplies. As if I don't have enough scrapbook supplies.
Anyway.
The plan was for me to do Michael's with Toast, and for Hubby to go to Home Depot (known as "Home Despot" in our house)...Hubby actually needed to do some investigating and asking for help at the Despot, which is better accomplished without a Toast in tow.
So there I am, in Michael's...Toast has started a constant whine which is neverending, unceasing, and interspersed with some verbiage that I'm still not clear about, meaning wise. It goes something like this.
eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeehhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh mamamamamamamama pODGHKCgpoingdkagnoeb;achklsek eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeehhhhhhhhhhhhhhh
That one last nerve that gets me to Saturday? Yeah, it's slowly PING-ing away, like a rope breaking all it's fibers in a Bugs Bunny cartoon.
We checkout, and since most stores think that you need ten receipts (one receipt that is approximately 10 meters long, accompanied by three coupons, two advertisements, four circulars, and assorted partridges in pear trees), I'm attempting to stuff all that paper in my wallet. There is, of course, a line. And out of one ear all I can hear is this:
eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeehhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh mamamamamamamama pODGHKCgpoingdkagnoeb;achklsek eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeehhhhhhhhhhhhhhh
....droning on at the approximate volume and key of a lawn mower heard from three streets away at seven in the morning on a sunday after a long night.
Not that I know what that sounds like.
So my bag is sitting on the counter, waiting for me to grab it. And I haven't gone anywhere (because I'm still stuffing). The gentleman behind me picks up my bag, nudges my elbow, and stands there with it in his hand.
The bag is now at the same level and station it was before, only having been moved about one food to the left and held by an actual human hand. The human hand sends a message: PICK UP YOUR BAG, LADY, AND GET OUT OF THE WAY SO MY WIFE CAN CHECK OUT.
I look at the man, and trying to be nice (didn't he notice the flames shooting out of my ears?), I say to him "thank you, I'll get that in a moment"
"I'm just trying to be helpful!" he says.
I take a deep breath, and all I say is thank you. Sometimes I don't have enough patience for my son and the rest of the world. This is one of those times. I've found it's better, in situations like this, just to say thank you and not read any further into the situation.
But really, if this ever happens to you...if you are that man? PICKING UP THE BAG DOES NOT HELP!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Anyway.
The plan was for me to do Michael's with Toast, and for Hubby to go to Home Depot (known as "Home Despot" in our house)...Hubby actually needed to do some investigating and asking for help at the Despot, which is better accomplished without a Toast in tow.
So there I am, in Michael's...Toast has started a constant whine which is neverending, unceasing, and interspersed with some verbiage that I'm still not clear about, meaning wise. It goes something like this.
eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeehhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh mamamamamamamama pODGHKCgpoingdkagnoeb;achklsek eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeehhhhhhhhhhhhhhh
That one last nerve that gets me to Saturday? Yeah, it's slowly PING-ing away, like a rope breaking all it's fibers in a Bugs Bunny cartoon.
We checkout, and since most stores think that you need ten receipts (one receipt that is approximately 10 meters long, accompanied by three coupons, two advertisements, four circulars, and assorted partridges in pear trees), I'm attempting to stuff all that paper in my wallet. There is, of course, a line. And out of one ear all I can hear is this:
eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeehhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh mamamamamamamama pODGHKCgpoingdkagnoeb;achklsek eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeehhhhhhhhhhhhhhh
....droning on at the approximate volume and key of a lawn mower heard from three streets away at seven in the morning on a sunday after a long night.
Not that I know what that sounds like.
So my bag is sitting on the counter, waiting for me to grab it. And I haven't gone anywhere (because I'm still stuffing). The gentleman behind me picks up my bag, nudges my elbow, and stands there with it in his hand.
The bag is now at the same level and station it was before, only having been moved about one food to the left and held by an actual human hand. The human hand sends a message: PICK UP YOUR BAG, LADY, AND GET OUT OF THE WAY SO MY WIFE CAN CHECK OUT.
I look at the man, and trying to be nice (didn't he notice the flames shooting out of my ears?), I say to him "thank you, I'll get that in a moment"
"I'm just trying to be helpful!" he says.
I take a deep breath, and all I say is thank you. Sometimes I don't have enough patience for my son and the rest of the world. This is one of those times. I've found it's better, in situations like this, just to say thank you and not read any further into the situation.
But really, if this ever happens to you...if you are that man? PICKING UP THE BAG DOES NOT HELP!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Monday, July 6, 2009
Well, well, well...
While the Thoughts part of this blog is going strong, the Life part is also, unfortunately, going strong. We are in the high part of summer here in the good ol' midwest, which means barbecues (where we don't eat BBQ but instead feast on burgers and some incarnation of something covered in Miracle Whip), Family reunions, and humidity. Thankfully, this year the last one is taking it's sweet time getting here.
Hubby's sister is coming in for a week next week, and we rarely get to see her, so it will be nonstop fun. Okay, maybe we'll stop now and then, but mostly I'm hoping it's nonstop. Other than that, we're prepping for abovementioned Family Reunion (it really does have to be capitalized...it's that fun and cool) of Hubby's side of the clan this weekend.
Other happenings:
Visits from friends who have moved out of state....
Emergency mulch deliveries from my parents (Hi, we're coming home with a trailer load of much, do you want some?)
Getting our house painted (because it REALLY needs it).
Buying a pool for Toast. That's not the exciting part. The exciting part is getting it home in my Honda Civic.
And generally trying to sort out life, as we all do, on a daily basis. I'm feeling a little, well, stuck lately. I have a million things I want to do, but no inspiration for any of it. I'm feeling more of the "I can't" lately than the "why not". It's adding extra annoyance because it's been so positively beautiful around here that it's perfect for playing and drawing and going to the park and all matters and sorts of summer activities.
I"m going to get right on that.
Hubby's sister is coming in for a week next week, and we rarely get to see her, so it will be nonstop fun. Okay, maybe we'll stop now and then, but mostly I'm hoping it's nonstop. Other than that, we're prepping for abovementioned Family Reunion (it really does have to be capitalized...it's that fun and cool) of Hubby's side of the clan this weekend.
Other happenings:
Visits from friends who have moved out of state....
Emergency mulch deliveries from my parents (Hi, we're coming home with a trailer load of much, do you want some?)
Getting our house painted (because it REALLY needs it).
Buying a pool for Toast. That's not the exciting part. The exciting part is getting it home in my Honda Civic.
And generally trying to sort out life, as we all do, on a daily basis. I'm feeling a little, well, stuck lately. I have a million things I want to do, but no inspiration for any of it. I'm feeling more of the "I can't" lately than the "why not". It's adding extra annoyance because it's been so positively beautiful around here that it's perfect for playing and drawing and going to the park and all matters and sorts of summer activities.
I"m going to get right on that.
Wednesday, March 11, 2009
More on project 365
After writing yesterday, I looked back on my blog to see if I had talked about project 365 before. Of course, I hadn't. I then looked at the clock to see if I had time to edit my entry. 11:30. Nope.
So for those of you who don't know what the heck project 365 is, I present a short explanation.
I first heard about this thing by reading Becky Higgins' blog. She designed a scrapbook kit for making a project 365 album. After reading about this, though, I started doing a little research on the internet, and there are 365-ers out there all over the place. Here's a good site that explains some about what it is.
So basically, you just take a photo every single day. That's it. I didn't buy the kit (although I covet it) because I wasn't sure I wanted to sink money into something I am not sure I would keep up on. After a few months of this, though, I think if it is offered next year I will. I am really enjoying thinking of things in terms of "what's in our lives, what do we do, what is our every day" and taking photos to document that. The main reason I started this project is because when I scrapbook, I HATE to journal..I hate the practice of writing on my page why I took the pictures, what they are about and what happened. I think this is so incredibly important, it's just that my journaling always sounds so stilted and fake to me. I thought by journaling about every day events, and writing about what we do every day in very short bursts it would help me become better and more comfortable with my journaling.
One of the comments yesterday mentioned getting myself into pictures. That's something I'm not good at. I'm really not. I prefer to be behind a camera rather than in front of it. I'm trying to get better about this. When I look at pictures, I'm always talking (go figure), making a funny face (usually because I'm talking, which means I'm gesturing too), or just looking weird somehow. I want to get over that "ugh" feeling I have when I look at myself in pictures. I just have a problem when I see that other people's pictures manage to make them look normal...mine manage to make me look weird. I'm working on overcoming this. :) Maybe I need to make my husband a better photographer! That's cheaper than me getting plastic surgery. :)
So for those of you who don't know what the heck project 365 is, I present a short explanation.
I first heard about this thing by reading Becky Higgins' blog. She designed a scrapbook kit for making a project 365 album. After reading about this, though, I started doing a little research on the internet, and there are 365-ers out there all over the place. Here's a good site that explains some about what it is.
So basically, you just take a photo every single day. That's it. I didn't buy the kit (although I covet it) because I wasn't sure I wanted to sink money into something I am not sure I would keep up on. After a few months of this, though, I think if it is offered next year I will. I am really enjoying thinking of things in terms of "what's in our lives, what do we do, what is our every day" and taking photos to document that. The main reason I started this project is because when I scrapbook, I HATE to journal..I hate the practice of writing on my page why I took the pictures, what they are about and what happened. I think this is so incredibly important, it's just that my journaling always sounds so stilted and fake to me. I thought by journaling about every day events, and writing about what we do every day in very short bursts it would help me become better and more comfortable with my journaling.
One of the comments yesterday mentioned getting myself into pictures. That's something I'm not good at. I'm really not. I prefer to be behind a camera rather than in front of it. I'm trying to get better about this. When I look at pictures, I'm always talking (go figure), making a funny face (usually because I'm talking, which means I'm gesturing too), or just looking weird somehow. I want to get over that "ugh" feeling I have when I look at myself in pictures. I just have a problem when I see that other people's pictures manage to make them look normal...mine manage to make me look weird. I'm working on overcoming this. :) Maybe I need to make my husband a better photographer! That's cheaper than me getting plastic surgery. :)
Tuesday, March 10, 2009
Project 365..how's that working?
I just updated my Flickr (finally) with a few week's worth of 365 pictures.
I've been doing project 365, still taking pictures and all. And yes, I've had to take a few pictures a day or two or three after, and use them as "stock" to fill in for days I've missed. But it doesn't bother me to do this...the whole point is to document a year in your life...and I have plenty of pictures taken on actual days.
I have to say that project 365, and scrapbooking in general, has really changed the way I look at the pictures I take and why I take them. I'm far more interested in documenting what my life is like instead of events. I find I get a lot more pictures, and some of them are pretty good. Some are pretty crappy...but still. :)
I've been doing project 365, still taking pictures and all. And yes, I've had to take a few pictures a day or two or three after, and use them as "stock" to fill in for days I've missed. But it doesn't bother me to do this...the whole point is to document a year in your life...and I have plenty of pictures taken on actual days.
I have to say that project 365, and scrapbooking in general, has really changed the way I look at the pictures I take and why I take them. I'm far more interested in documenting what my life is like instead of events. I find I get a lot more pictures, and some of them are pretty good. Some are pretty crappy...but still. :)
Saturday, February 28, 2009
I HATE mornings like this.
Preface: Wednesday and Thursday night, Toast was waking up frequently crying. Thursday it was every hour on the hour. Hubby and I have an "agreement" that unless T is really sick, I get up during the week because Hubby has to work. Toast really doesn't wake up at night any more, and this works out fine...except I ALWAYS hear Toast when he gets up, and Hubby rarely does.
7:00 AM, Saturday 2/28: *wail* silence *wail* silence
7:00:30: I furiously poke hubby. "will you get up with him?" (this happens a lot. I'm always afraid Toast will wake up Hubby and so spring from bed fully loaded to go and get him. I didn't say I was happy about it, or graceful in doing it, just that I do. Hubby always requires poking.)
7:00:35 "yes," my dear sweet husband groans.
Hubby gets up, gets the toast. I try to go back to bed. Then this happens.
7:45
Brain: there's no milk.
me: shut up, they can eat eggs.
Brain: there's no milk
me: shut up, you don't need milk to make eggs, it's just a bonus. Like sour cream. You don't need sour cream to make any food at all, but it makes everything better.
Brain: There's only one egg.
me: They can make oatmeal. Hubby can figure that out.
Brain: there's only a half a cup of Oatmeal left.
me: they can eat INSTANT...shut up shut up shut up *pounds pillow and pulls blanket over head*
Brain: There's no instant. You insist on the real thing now because "It's not that hard to make and surely real oatmeal and brown sugar is better than instant dehydrated sweetner and fake oats"
Me: Shut up.
Brain: There's no milk.
I get out of bed. I go downstairs. Toast is eating cheerios and hubby is thinking about breakfast. He looks at me, I know he's thinking about how to phrase this.
I suggest going out for breakfast, he happily agrees. Marital bliss is restored.
But then my brain starts in again:
brain: we have to go to drop hubby's car off at the dealership for some work...and we were going to go to IKEA. These things cannot be accomplished in the alloted time without at least a half hour of wait time...too long to wait, too short to come home.
Me: shut up.
So that's how I was up, dressed, packed for a trip to Ikea, grocery list made (to kill that half hour), things measured so we could look for counterparts at IKEA, planned and everything written down, all before eight AM.
All before Coffee.
Sometimes I'm amazed at my own strength.
7:00 AM, Saturday 2/28: *wail* silence *wail* silence
7:00:30: I furiously poke hubby. "will you get up with him?" (this happens a lot. I'm always afraid Toast will wake up Hubby and so spring from bed fully loaded to go and get him. I didn't say I was happy about it, or graceful in doing it, just that I do. Hubby always requires poking.)
7:00:35 "yes," my dear sweet husband groans.
Hubby gets up, gets the toast. I try to go back to bed. Then this happens.
7:45
Brain: there's no milk.
me: shut up, they can eat eggs.
Brain: there's no milk
me: shut up, you don't need milk to make eggs, it's just a bonus. Like sour cream. You don't need sour cream to make any food at all, but it makes everything better.
Brain: There's only one egg.
me: They can make oatmeal. Hubby can figure that out.
Brain: there's only a half a cup of Oatmeal left.
me: they can eat INSTANT...shut up shut up shut up *pounds pillow and pulls blanket over head*
Brain: There's no instant. You insist on the real thing now because "It's not that hard to make and surely real oatmeal and brown sugar is better than instant dehydrated sweetner and fake oats"
Me: Shut up.
Brain: There's no milk.
I get out of bed. I go downstairs. Toast is eating cheerios and hubby is thinking about breakfast. He looks at me, I know he's thinking about how to phrase this.
I suggest going out for breakfast, he happily agrees. Marital bliss is restored.
But then my brain starts in again:
brain: we have to go to drop hubby's car off at the dealership for some work...and we were going to go to IKEA. These things cannot be accomplished in the alloted time without at least a half hour of wait time...too long to wait, too short to come home.
Me: shut up.
So that's how I was up, dressed, packed for a trip to Ikea, grocery list made (to kill that half hour), things measured so we could look for counterparts at IKEA, planned and everything written down, all before eight AM.
All before Coffee.
Sometimes I'm amazed at my own strength.
Thursday, January 29, 2009
Freakin' Sunshine and Unicorns...
Oh, lovely little blog. The house begins to fall apart and you get so neglected. You know, someone gets sick...then cuts two molars...then winds up with an ear infection and I'm all "what blog!"
A few things..
I don't think I blogged about Weight Watchers, but I have started again. I did this back in...2002? Yes, I think that was it. And I lost a TON of weight. Not enough to make me look like a clothes rack, but I felt really really good and had a ton of energy. I learned how to eat properly, which is why I LOVE this program so much. But then...well, life happened....
So I'm back on the horse. The first week I lost 3 lbs, which is pretty good. I'm doing it online, and I LOVE that...it's very very easy to keep track of everything. Especially when one enjoys quality time with the ol' Mac like I do. So, I'll probably be posting updates on that here and there, trying to keep myself honest and all.
Project 365 (new! with improved coffeemomma "lite" adjustments) is going well. I"m remembering to take pictures every day, which is half the battle. I post them on my flickr page, which is here. I have done three weeks worth of layouts for my book, so I'm keeping up on that also. There are some things I really love about this. One, I'm really really trying to stay away from "scrapbooking" these pages. I'm putting in the pictures on plain cream-colored paper. The exception is the tags for recording what each picture is about, and I'm using pre-made tags in most cases, or making my own. I want the focus to be on what was happening, no matter how mundane (one picture this week was of my shoes). It all seems so silly now, but in the big picture, I'm fascinated by what life was like "back when" for people I know...and that's the boring stuff no one likes to talk about. So I'm picturing the boring stuff! At the end of the month maybe I'll post some of my layouts to show what I'm doing.
Oh, and on the crafty front. This is disgusting:
This? This is the SIX knitting projects I have started. Some knitters? They start lots of things at once, they knit like the wind. They buy and stash yarn in huge quantities. Not me. I'm not a fickle girl. I like to start on a project and see it through. So okay, maybe two...but one will be a pair of socks and we all know those don't count. But SIX? What, do I have Fibre ADD? Apparently. The worst part is ONLY ONE of these is a challenging project...the others are QUICK knits. But not for me. Oy. So I'm working on finishing these up. Oh...and ONE of them is a deadline knit...I stole for a wedding gift that is "due" in May and is my first big lace project...so I really need to be plodding along on that and I'm not. Geeze. (Flickr has this picture with notes so you can see what each thing is, if you're into that kind of thing).
So we're alive and kickin' here....Toast is on the mend (oh, you didn't know I was talking about him in the first paragraph?) and we're feeling fine. Loving the snow, hating the cold. Too bad they come in a pair. :)
A few things..
I don't think I blogged about Weight Watchers, but I have started again. I did this back in...2002? Yes, I think that was it. And I lost a TON of weight. Not enough to make me look like a clothes rack, but I felt really really good and had a ton of energy. I learned how to eat properly, which is why I LOVE this program so much. But then...well, life happened....
So I'm back on the horse. The first week I lost 3 lbs, which is pretty good. I'm doing it online, and I LOVE that...it's very very easy to keep track of everything. Especially when one enjoys quality time with the ol' Mac like I do. So, I'll probably be posting updates on that here and there, trying to keep myself honest and all.
Project 365 (new! with improved coffeemomma "lite" adjustments) is going well. I"m remembering to take pictures every day, which is half the battle. I post them on my flickr page, which is here. I have done three weeks worth of layouts for my book, so I'm keeping up on that also. There are some things I really love about this. One, I'm really really trying to stay away from "scrapbooking" these pages. I'm putting in the pictures on plain cream-colored paper. The exception is the tags for recording what each picture is about, and I'm using pre-made tags in most cases, or making my own. I want the focus to be on what was happening, no matter how mundane (one picture this week was of my shoes). It all seems so silly now, but in the big picture, I'm fascinated by what life was like "back when" for people I know...and that's the boring stuff no one likes to talk about. So I'm picturing the boring stuff! At the end of the month maybe I'll post some of my layouts to show what I'm doing.
Oh, and on the crafty front. This is disgusting:
This? This is the SIX knitting projects I have started. Some knitters? They start lots of things at once, they knit like the wind. They buy and stash yarn in huge quantities. Not me. I'm not a fickle girl. I like to start on a project and see it through. So okay, maybe two...but one will be a pair of socks and we all know those don't count. But SIX? What, do I have Fibre ADD? Apparently. The worst part is ONLY ONE of these is a challenging project...the others are QUICK knits. But not for me. Oy. So I'm working on finishing these up. Oh...and ONE of them is a deadline knit...I stole for a wedding gift that is "due" in May and is my first big lace project...so I really need to be plodding along on that and I'm not. Geeze. (Flickr has this picture with notes so you can see what each thing is, if you're into that kind of thing). So we're alive and kickin' here....Toast is on the mend (oh, you didn't know I was talking about him in the first paragraph?) and we're feeling fine. Loving the snow, hating the cold. Too bad they come in a pair. :)
Wednesday, January 21, 2009
Not the first
Many things will be written about yesterday's events, and most will be far more eloquent than I could achieve. I have to just note a few things, though, to record my own experience.
First, how beautiful, graceful, confident, amazing and lovely is Michelle Obama? I was completely struck by her presence as her own person, instead of a sort of "lady in waiting" as most first ladies seem to be.... I was also struck by how visible the relationship she has with her husband is. These are not two people who are in a marriage and also in public life...these are two people who are in love, married, and working as a team to achieve their lives. Oh, and he's president now... That's really the way it appears to me. I love that when they look at each other you can see the respect, love, and team effort that is the rock of their marriage.
Like many, the fact that there were so many shots looking out over the west (? was it the west?) lawn of the Capitol on to the Washington Monument and the mall in the distance. I could not help but remember grainy black and white images of the march on Washington and Dr. King's speech at the Lincoln memorial so many years ago. As I listened to our new president speak, Toast (who had been sick all day) was fast asleep in my arms. I wept a little, thinking of what kind of world he would inhabit, and so filled with hope for our country and the world my son will live in.
I wondered if they would use President Obama's (that has a nice ring!) middle name in the swearing in. He has openly acknowledged the baggage a name like Hussein has, and we all know that. I feel that by not shying away from using his full name, even with that baggage, it was a signal that we can move on, that fear of ideas will only hold us back. I"m sure that it wasn't analyzed that much from his end...but I'm glad there was no shying away from using his middle name.
On a much much lighter note, how much of an idiot did the Chief Justice make of himself! You are swearing in a man to the highest office in the nation. Do you think you could make sure you have the words right? Incredibly disrespectful. I was really dissapointed at that.
I am glad that we will have a fresh approach to things for a little while. Those who know me are aware of my feelings toward the Bush administration, and it's not necessary to rehash them. Though I am no fan of the last eight years, I have enormous respect for the office of the president and the enormity of the job. I do think, if being fair, that no matter what you think of the previous or current administrations, it's just time for someone else to have a go at things. Let's look at this country, it's problems and successes, with fresh eyes and start again. There is nothing that can't be fixed, I hope.
First, how beautiful, graceful, confident, amazing and lovely is Michelle Obama? I was completely struck by her presence as her own person, instead of a sort of "lady in waiting" as most first ladies seem to be.... I was also struck by how visible the relationship she has with her husband is. These are not two people who are in a marriage and also in public life...these are two people who are in love, married, and working as a team to achieve their lives. Oh, and he's president now... That's really the way it appears to me. I love that when they look at each other you can see the respect, love, and team effort that is the rock of their marriage.
Like many, the fact that there were so many shots looking out over the west (? was it the west?) lawn of the Capitol on to the Washington Monument and the mall in the distance. I could not help but remember grainy black and white images of the march on Washington and Dr. King's speech at the Lincoln memorial so many years ago. As I listened to our new president speak, Toast (who had been sick all day) was fast asleep in my arms. I wept a little, thinking of what kind of world he would inhabit, and so filled with hope for our country and the world my son will live in.
I wondered if they would use President Obama's (that has a nice ring!) middle name in the swearing in. He has openly acknowledged the baggage a name like Hussein has, and we all know that. I feel that by not shying away from using his full name, even with that baggage, it was a signal that we can move on, that fear of ideas will only hold us back. I"m sure that it wasn't analyzed that much from his end...but I'm glad there was no shying away from using his middle name.
On a much much lighter note, how much of an idiot did the Chief Justice make of himself! You are swearing in a man to the highest office in the nation. Do you think you could make sure you have the words right? Incredibly disrespectful. I was really dissapointed at that.
I am glad that we will have a fresh approach to things for a little while. Those who know me are aware of my feelings toward the Bush administration, and it's not necessary to rehash them. Though I am no fan of the last eight years, I have enormous respect for the office of the president and the enormity of the job. I do think, if being fair, that no matter what you think of the previous or current administrations, it's just time for someone else to have a go at things. Let's look at this country, it's problems and successes, with fresh eyes and start again. There is nothing that can't be fixed, I hope.
Thursday, January 8, 2009
Breathing, again
I looked at the date of my last post and thought "wow"...but in a good way. I can't believe so much time has gone by without posting...but I haven't been a bad blog-mama, I've been a good Coffeemomma by taking care of myself, hubby and Toast. :) You see, we have been going along just fine...taking the days as they come. And the days are getting easier. Then (as some of my pre-christmas posts may indicate), we put up the Christmas tree and it was so hard. I didn't know it was coming...at least not that bad. I didn't realize that our first Christmas without the Tiny man would be full of little landmines and triggers of good memories that would make me sad and purge me of all christmas spirit.
So we went on vacation.
Okay, we didn't go because things were difficult, but as it turned out, the change in scenery was EXACTLY what we needed for this first Christmas without our Tiny man. Hubby's family has been doing the holidays in Florida for years and years, and when our dating became serious, we started alternating...one year in Fla. and one here in Michigan. We missed 2006 because we didn't want to travel that far with Tiny Man, so it has been awhile since we worked on our Christmas tans. It was nice to be away from home, but still be with family. The sunshine did wonders for all of us, especially me. Let it never be said that the winter blues have nothing do to with lack of light...for me, at least, they really do. It was a noticeable difference.
So in a nutshell: We flew there and back, and Toast was great on the plane. I was so happy about that! We did two Disney parks: Epcot (which included the fine tradition of eating our way around the world) and Animal Kingdom (if you haven't gone here because you think it will be lame, really: check it out, it's very cool). We looked for Hidden Mickeys. We did lots of shopping (I LOVE after christmas deals) and swimming, and reading, and playing and walking and relaxing.
So for the new year? Well, I don't make resolutions. They are too easy to break. There's all this pressure to tell people about them, then you feel guilty when you don't keep them up. I never keep them up. Maybe that says something about me. Anyway. I do have a few goals for the new year. One is to do something crafty every day. Crafting makes me happy. I love the knitting, of course, but I really want to do more scrapbooking in the new year. I didn't do a whole lot last year, and I miss it. To that end, I'm trying to take a picture every day and create a weekly spread. I got the idea from the Creating Keepsakes kit "365", which encourages you to scrap every day. I just want to take a picture every day, mostly to document what life is like...not the big events, but everyday life. Someday I will look back on this time and love that I was so fortunate to be able to spend time at home with Toast. I will want to see how he changed over a year. I will want to remember what we did every day. I don't think I will be able to scrapbook every single day. But I want to have a record of what life was really like, not what big events happened in our year. Because you always remember the big stuff!
So I also have a new crafty obsession: embroidery. I know, it's not 1863, get with the program. But have you seen this website? I got one of her kits for christmas, and I'm obsessed with the designs! I'll have pictures later of my first few creations.
So that's it! I'm recovered from the holidays...I've returned home, cleaned up the house a little, dug through all the mail, returned the phone calls, written the thank-yous. I've caught up on the web stuff, the email, loaded up the pictures and posted some to flickr. With this blog post I'm officially not on vacation any more. Now to finish the laundry.
So we went on vacation.
Okay, we didn't go because things were difficult, but as it turned out, the change in scenery was EXACTLY what we needed for this first Christmas without our Tiny man. Hubby's family has been doing the holidays in Florida for years and years, and when our dating became serious, we started alternating...one year in Fla. and one here in Michigan. We missed 2006 because we didn't want to travel that far with Tiny Man, so it has been awhile since we worked on our Christmas tans. It was nice to be away from home, but still be with family. The sunshine did wonders for all of us, especially me. Let it never be said that the winter blues have nothing do to with lack of light...for me, at least, they really do. It was a noticeable difference.
So in a nutshell: We flew there and back, and Toast was great on the plane. I was so happy about that! We did two Disney parks: Epcot (which included the fine tradition of eating our way around the world) and Animal Kingdom (if you haven't gone here because you think it will be lame, really: check it out, it's very cool). We looked for Hidden Mickeys. We did lots of shopping (I LOVE after christmas deals) and swimming, and reading, and playing and walking and relaxing.
So for the new year? Well, I don't make resolutions. They are too easy to break. There's all this pressure to tell people about them, then you feel guilty when you don't keep them up. I never keep them up. Maybe that says something about me. Anyway. I do have a few goals for the new year. One is to do something crafty every day. Crafting makes me happy. I love the knitting, of course, but I really want to do more scrapbooking in the new year. I didn't do a whole lot last year, and I miss it. To that end, I'm trying to take a picture every day and create a weekly spread. I got the idea from the Creating Keepsakes kit "365", which encourages you to scrap every day. I just want to take a picture every day, mostly to document what life is like...not the big events, but everyday life. Someday I will look back on this time and love that I was so fortunate to be able to spend time at home with Toast. I will want to see how he changed over a year. I will want to remember what we did every day. I don't think I will be able to scrapbook every single day. But I want to have a record of what life was really like, not what big events happened in our year. Because you always remember the big stuff!
So I also have a new crafty obsession: embroidery. I know, it's not 1863, get with the program. But have you seen this website? I got one of her kits for christmas, and I'm obsessed with the designs! I'll have pictures later of my first few creations.
So that's it! I'm recovered from the holidays...I've returned home, cleaned up the house a little, dug through all the mail, returned the phone calls, written the thank-yous. I've caught up on the web stuff, the email, loaded up the pictures and posted some to flickr. With this blog post I'm officially not on vacation any more. Now to finish the laundry.
Tuesday, December 2, 2008
Well, it's December, meaning my month of trying to post every day is over. I didn't make it, but that doesn't mean it wasn't worth my time to try. I think that I did learn a few things...first off, I'm not a post every day kind of person. ( haha ). But really, I think that I would rather post a few words every few days and post about meaningful things rather than try and post something every day, which could easily turn into this: "Toast and I played today. Then we had lunch and a nap. Then Hubby came home and we ate dinner. Then we went to bed after some more playing, TV and knitting". This is not to say that attempting a post every day is a bad thing. It did force me to think about things in a different way...to try and post something that was interesting and not just write about the ordinary. Since starting to keep a blog I really do look at things differently. I think about my day and the things I see in terms of what is noteworthy, what is differet, what is interesting. It is true that every day something happens that is interesting. I also have learned that at the end of the day all I want sometimes is a knitting project and a warm blanket on the couch. I don't want to think about writing on the blog. Also, posting during the day is right out...Toast sees the computer as direct competition, and does not tolerate me taking a few minutes to check Email when I could be playing with him or doing something far more fascinating like trying to clean the house with his help. :) All in all, a valuable experience, I think. One I would definately try again next year.
We are going away for Christmas. I've been looking forward to spending time with the in-laws in a warm climate, but lately I've started to realize that it will be good for more than just a Christmas tan. We put up the tree this weekend and it was really difficult...taking out all of Tiny man's ornaments and putting them up. Seeing his stocking and the projects he made at school last year. Going away this first holiday after he has been gone will be good just for a change of scenery. We will be in a new place making different memories, not surrounded by our last holiday with him. We will still be with family, and I don't think that things will be much easier, but it will be different. I think that different is exactly what we need this year.
We are going away for Christmas. I've been looking forward to spending time with the in-laws in a warm climate, but lately I've started to realize that it will be good for more than just a Christmas tan. We put up the tree this weekend and it was really difficult...taking out all of Tiny man's ornaments and putting them up. Seeing his stocking and the projects he made at school last year. Going away this first holiday after he has been gone will be good just for a change of scenery. We will be in a new place making different memories, not surrounded by our last holiday with him. We will still be with family, and I don't think that things will be much easier, but it will be different. I think that different is exactly what we need this year.
Wednesday, November 19, 2008
the best internet tool you're not using
Google, marry me.
I am far from being a tech-person. I leave the hooking of the stereo up to Hubby. When the computer breaks, I usually whine until he fixes it. I can do things for myself, but I prefer not to mess around with something that can probably learn to think for itself, and, when it does, will be far smarter than me.
But, my friends, but....there is this thing that Al Gore "invented" called the internet.
I'm always telling people about how I read this blog, or saw this recipe...or the other day on flickr or twitter someone did so and so...and often their eyes glaze over. I do get a lot of "how do you have time to read all that?" And that's where the title of today's post comes in.
One: I know that people get attached to their particular email, and you think "it gets mail, who cares?" Seriously, people. Seriously? Please do yourself a favor and check out a Google account. Why? You ask? Because it does so much more than Email. There are great posts about it on Simple Mom, a blog on home management, and she sums things up nicely, but basically Google is so much more than Email. You can have a calendar...and share it online. When I first saw this I thought "who would want to read my calendar?" Well, Hubby, for one...and from work at that. You can create to-do lists, manage tasks....it sounds overwhelming and believe me, I didn't start utilizing a lot of what Google can do until recently. I'm a paper and pencil girl, and all that computer organization kind of made my head woozy. But I'll tell you what, I love it now.
That brings us to Two: When you get a Google account, you can set up a Google homepage (iGoogle). What is on that homepage? Well, if you're like me (at home all day), I have my computer on all day. My Google homepage is up. I have my Email, twitter, news feeds, calendar, todo list, all staring at me all day....easy to access whenever I get a spare minute away from Toast. I don't have to click and log in and navigate bookmarks to find what I want....it's all there. You pick the things you want on it...puzzles, daily joke, what news organizations feed there...your horoscope. And you can personalize it with neat themes that make it pretty. If you're into that.
Oh, and speaking of bookmarks, here's three: Google Reader!!!!! There are a lot of readers out there, and they may all be lovely, but I have only used Google. A lot of what I'm about to gush may be true about all of them (just my disclaimer!)...
So let's say that you enjoy reading certain blogs. Like this one. And maybe this one leads you to another one that you spend two hours one night reading and then reading the archives (not that I've ever done this)...then three weeks later you remember how much you enjoyed those, but you didn't bookmark them. So you don't remember the address. Or maybe you did bookmark them, but your bookmark folder is so long and so unorganized that you spend a half an hour trying to figure it out and then give up and go find some chocolate. Not that I've ever done this. And when you do get your chocolate and get back to the page, you forget which posts you've read and which you haven't. And you give up.
Enter Google Reader. Simply put, it's an online magazine you design yourself. Sometimes at the bottom of your favorite webpages, you'll see this thing called "RSS". You think "What is that?" Well, when you pick up an RSS feed, from any available reader (and there are many, as I said before)...Google (or your reader) automatically posts the new additions to the site for you. So when you log into Google homepage, after checking your Email, you click on reader, and there are all of the things you like to read..waiting for you. If there are no new posts, you don't waste your time slogging through bookmarks. If there are 40 new posts, and you don't care, you just click "mark as read" and forget about them. This is how I keep up on all the blogs I like. Some days I can't read anything. Some days I get a three hour nap time and I can catch up on everything. It's always there waiting for me.
So what are you waiting for? Go fool around with Google...you won't be sorry!!!
I am far from being a tech-person. I leave the hooking of the stereo up to Hubby. When the computer breaks, I usually whine until he fixes it. I can do things for myself, but I prefer not to mess around with something that can probably learn to think for itself, and, when it does, will be far smarter than me.
But, my friends, but....there is this thing that Al Gore "invented" called the internet.
I'm always telling people about how I read this blog, or saw this recipe...or the other day on flickr or twitter someone did so and so...and often their eyes glaze over. I do get a lot of "how do you have time to read all that?" And that's where the title of today's post comes in.
One: I know that people get attached to their particular email, and you think "it gets mail, who cares?" Seriously, people. Seriously? Please do yourself a favor and check out a Google account. Why? You ask? Because it does so much more than Email. There are great posts about it on Simple Mom, a blog on home management, and she sums things up nicely, but basically Google is so much more than Email. You can have a calendar...and share it online. When I first saw this I thought "who would want to read my calendar?" Well, Hubby, for one...and from work at that. You can create to-do lists, manage tasks....it sounds overwhelming and believe me, I didn't start utilizing a lot of what Google can do until recently. I'm a paper and pencil girl, and all that computer organization kind of made my head woozy. But I'll tell you what, I love it now.
That brings us to Two: When you get a Google account, you can set up a Google homepage (iGoogle). What is on that homepage? Well, if you're like me (at home all day), I have my computer on all day. My Google homepage is up. I have my Email, twitter, news feeds, calendar, todo list, all staring at me all day....easy to access whenever I get a spare minute away from Toast. I don't have to click and log in and navigate bookmarks to find what I want....it's all there. You pick the things you want on it...puzzles, daily joke, what news organizations feed there...your horoscope. And you can personalize it with neat themes that make it pretty. If you're into that.
Oh, and speaking of bookmarks, here's three: Google Reader!!!!! There are a lot of readers out there, and they may all be lovely, but I have only used Google. A lot of what I'm about to gush may be true about all of them (just my disclaimer!)...
So let's say that you enjoy reading certain blogs. Like this one. And maybe this one leads you to another one that you spend two hours one night reading and then reading the archives (not that I've ever done this)...then three weeks later you remember how much you enjoyed those, but you didn't bookmark them. So you don't remember the address. Or maybe you did bookmark them, but your bookmark folder is so long and so unorganized that you spend a half an hour trying to figure it out and then give up and go find some chocolate. Not that I've ever done this. And when you do get your chocolate and get back to the page, you forget which posts you've read and which you haven't. And you give up.
Enter Google Reader. Simply put, it's an online magazine you design yourself. Sometimes at the bottom of your favorite webpages, you'll see this thing called "RSS". You think "What is that?" Well, when you pick up an RSS feed, from any available reader (and there are many, as I said before)...Google (or your reader) automatically posts the new additions to the site for you. So when you log into Google homepage, after checking your Email, you click on reader, and there are all of the things you like to read..waiting for you. If there are no new posts, you don't waste your time slogging through bookmarks. If there are 40 new posts, and you don't care, you just click "mark as read" and forget about them. This is how I keep up on all the blogs I like. Some days I can't read anything. Some days I get a three hour nap time and I can catch up on everything. It's always there waiting for me.
So what are you waiting for? Go fool around with Google...you won't be sorry!!!
Wednesday, November 12, 2008
Grunt
So Hubby has been complaining the last few days of a sore throat and stuffy head. Yesterday he told me that he thought he was at the end of it. Today started out fine, now my head is pounding and my sinuses are all full. Hubby came home early, achy and stuffy. Huzzah, the plague has come to Chez Coffeemomma.
The only thing I'm hoping is that Toast, if he gets sick at all, gets sick AFTER we have recovered. Taking care of a sick kid is one thing, taking care of one while you are also sick is something else entirely.
Spent the entire day with my sister, shopping and running general errands. Had a slight heart attack in Target (where all of my adventures begin, such as Toast calling my mom on my cell phone at eight months of age). So I'm looking for a toothbrush for Toast, seeing as he has four teeth, is eating table food, and has foul breath. He's in the cart, I have a hand on it, but my sister and I are clearly distracted. That's when I turn around and see him STANDING UP IN THE CART. Hands on the handle, tush in the air, pleased with himself. I stifle my scream, shove him down in the cart, and look around for social services, who MUST be watching me like hawks through the closed-circuit TV system they use to monitor security in the store. My sister says to me, totally deadpan "you are in so much trouble". No kidding. If he's standing in the cart at eleven months, what is going to happen at age two?
The only thing I'm hoping is that Toast, if he gets sick at all, gets sick AFTER we have recovered. Taking care of a sick kid is one thing, taking care of one while you are also sick is something else entirely.
Spent the entire day with my sister, shopping and running general errands. Had a slight heart attack in Target (where all of my adventures begin, such as Toast calling my mom on my cell phone at eight months of age). So I'm looking for a toothbrush for Toast, seeing as he has four teeth, is eating table food, and has foul breath. He's in the cart, I have a hand on it, but my sister and I are clearly distracted. That's when I turn around and see him STANDING UP IN THE CART. Hands on the handle, tush in the air, pleased with himself. I stifle my scream, shove him down in the cart, and look around for social services, who MUST be watching me like hawks through the closed-circuit TV system they use to monitor security in the store. My sister says to me, totally deadpan "you are in so much trouble". No kidding. If he's standing in the cart at eleven months, what is going to happen at age two?
Sunday, November 9, 2008
Ahhhhhhh
Planned a long day at home today, just sitting and playing with the Toast (our nickname for T is T___ Toast, or the Toaster, or sometimes just "Toast"...). Well, that and soup, which I'll get to in a minute. So imagine my surprise when, on a mission of mercy to Meijer, Hubby calls and says "do you want to go to the DIA (the Art Museum) with my parents?". I LOVE the DIA...so of course I said yes.
Then I started to think.
If Hubby and Toast went with mom and dad, I could have a minimum of three hours. THREE HOURS of completely unadulterated SILENCE and peace. It started to give me the twitches just thinking about it.
I broke the news slowly to Hubby: "Hey...so....uh....I have this pot of soup on...do you think, maybe...uh...you and Toast could to to the museum and I would stay here, you know, for a little me time?" And this, my friends, is why I love him: "Sure! We could do that"
Joy! Rapture!
So they tromped off to get cultured, and while I am very very sad at missing time with my In-laws (who I love) and the Monet/Dali exhibit (which I really want to see), I also was overjoyed at having my whole entire house to myself.
Of course, a good amount of time was spent finishing the soup task I mentioned earlier. My mom and her friend took the turkeys they raise in to the Happy Turkey Hunting Grounds this week, and I was presented with two fresh turkeys (20 lbs and 24 lbs, I think), all cut up (because really, when do three people eat a 20 lb turkey?) and with carcasses in tact. I brought out my huge gazillion-quart canning pot and worked up a little homemade turkey stock magic with the non-roastable parts and the veggies (it's a secret mix...sorry). Okay...small exaggeration. It's an enamel pot that will boil seven quart jars of spaghetti sauce or whatever else your canning. So thats...what, a million quarts? We had six quarts of stock, three had meat in them, for freezing; plus a two cup plastic food container full, and fed all four and a half of us and have leftovers. Put that with the chicken stock I made a few weeks ago and we are stocked with stock now. Hooray! Oh, and the soup was great, I added meat (deboned what there was plus threw two wings in there for extra, so there was plenty), carrots, cannelinni beans, corn and spinach. With a loaf of yummy bread it was a great dinner.
I got a whole scrapook page done today..well a two page spread... I consider this a day well spent.
Then I started to think.
If Hubby and Toast went with mom and dad, I could have a minimum of three hours. THREE HOURS of completely unadulterated SILENCE and peace. It started to give me the twitches just thinking about it.
I broke the news slowly to Hubby: "Hey...so....uh....I have this pot of soup on...do you think, maybe...uh...you and Toast could to to the museum and I would stay here, you know, for a little me time?" And this, my friends, is why I love him: "Sure! We could do that"
Joy! Rapture!
So they tromped off to get cultured, and while I am very very sad at missing time with my In-laws (who I love) and the Monet/Dali exhibit (which I really want to see), I also was overjoyed at having my whole entire house to myself.
Of course, a good amount of time was spent finishing the soup task I mentioned earlier. My mom and her friend took the turkeys they raise in to the Happy Turkey Hunting Grounds this week, and I was presented with two fresh turkeys (20 lbs and 24 lbs, I think), all cut up (because really, when do three people eat a 20 lb turkey?) and with carcasses in tact. I brought out my huge gazillion-quart canning pot and worked up a little homemade turkey stock magic with the non-roastable parts and the veggies (it's a secret mix...sorry). Okay...small exaggeration. It's an enamel pot that will boil seven quart jars of spaghetti sauce or whatever else your canning. So thats...what, a million quarts? We had six quarts of stock, three had meat in them, for freezing; plus a two cup plastic food container full, and fed all four and a half of us and have leftovers. Put that with the chicken stock I made a few weeks ago and we are stocked with stock now. Hooray! Oh, and the soup was great, I added meat (deboned what there was plus threw two wings in there for extra, so there was plenty), carrots, cannelinni beans, corn and spinach. With a loaf of yummy bread it was a great dinner.
I got a whole scrapook page done today..well a two page spread... I consider this a day well spent.
Friday, January 11, 2008
Because I feel like posting
Things I would like to be able to do again soon:
1. Knit
2. Shower daily
3. Sleep all night
4. Scrapbook (date planned: Jan. 18, so "Check")
5. Cook a big meal for us
6. Have time alone with Hubby
7. Mop my kitchen floor (I don't know where this comes from...although my house is usually free of clutter, because I hate clutter, it is rarely "clean clean"...just picked up and swept...but suddenly the compulsion is there)
8. do a complete task from start to finish
9. Wear a regular Bra, one that holds the girls up and doesn't give me uniboob. Why OH WHY do they not make good nursing bras for large breasted women?
10. Go for a walk. Preferably with the boys during the "whiny hour" of either 11 am-noon or 3:30 pm - 4:30 pm.
11. Get a haircut
I'm not complaining...no, really, I"m not...but I need a list of things I want to accomplish that reads more like this (long term things that will come back into the realm of our new normal soon) and less like "feed cat, buy diapers". Because all of these things will happen again soon, it's just not now.
I love being at home. I love my boys. But sometimes in the middle of the day when Tiny Man is screaming and Bruiser wants to nurse again for the fifth time in two hours, I have to set them down and go out to the garage for two reasons: 1. I can shut the door and 2. I can take five deep breaths and come back in ready to be patient again. Tiny Man has developed this annoying habit of screeching at the top of his lungs for sustained periods of time for no reason. Well, he has a reason: he is being asked to play on his own while I do something with baby Bruiser. It's just an adjustment period.
Had a visitor today that brought me starbucks. mmmmmm. It's the little things.
1. Knit
2. Shower daily
3. Sleep all night
4. Scrapbook (date planned: Jan. 18, so "Check")
5. Cook a big meal for us
6. Have time alone with Hubby
7. Mop my kitchen floor (I don't know where this comes from...although my house is usually free of clutter, because I hate clutter, it is rarely "clean clean"...just picked up and swept...but suddenly the compulsion is there)
8. do a complete task from start to finish
9. Wear a regular Bra, one that holds the girls up and doesn't give me uniboob. Why OH WHY do they not make good nursing bras for large breasted women?
10. Go for a walk. Preferably with the boys during the "whiny hour" of either 11 am-noon or 3:30 pm - 4:30 pm.
11. Get a haircut
I'm not complaining...no, really, I"m not...but I need a list of things I want to accomplish that reads more like this (long term things that will come back into the realm of our new normal soon) and less like "feed cat, buy diapers". Because all of these things will happen again soon, it's just not now.
I love being at home. I love my boys. But sometimes in the middle of the day when Tiny Man is screaming and Bruiser wants to nurse again for the fifth time in two hours, I have to set them down and go out to the garage for two reasons: 1. I can shut the door and 2. I can take five deep breaths and come back in ready to be patient again. Tiny Man has developed this annoying habit of screeching at the top of his lungs for sustained periods of time for no reason. Well, he has a reason: he is being asked to play on his own while I do something with baby Bruiser. It's just an adjustment period.
Had a visitor today that brought me starbucks. mmmmmm. It's the little things.
Monday, September 10, 2007
"Oh, are you pregnant?"
I cannot tell you how many times I have heard this statement in the past two months. Prior to that, I was willing to accept that, okay, I was less than five months, and it took me a long time to show when pregnant with the tiny man, so okay...maybe I didn't look pregnant. But now? Now I"m seven months. I'm huge. My belly has actually grown beyond the ... uh ... other frontal appendages I sport, and that's saying something, because the girls? They are impressive. I am the size of a small duplex. And sometimes when I am talking to someone new, and I mention "when the baby comes", they say to me "Oh, are you pregnant?"
I know that many people, me included, believe that it is really really bad to ask anyone if they are pregnant, or when they are expecting. Mostly because you just never know. I have made this error, after garnering what I *thought* were conversational clues indicating the status of a friend's uterus. It was a friend I hadn't seen an awhile, and while she didn't look any different (really, she didn't), I thought I had gotten from the context of the conversation that she was pregnant. And I asked her when she was due. And flames shot from her eyes and singed all the hair off of my body as she said in a voice resembling some satanic demon in a horror movie "I'm not pregnant". The "bitch" at the end was not stated, but implied.
But me? I have a basketball in my stomach right now. I think I look pretty damn pregnant. Apparently other people think I have gained an inordinate amount of weight this summer, and I'm just living the high life, sitting on my couch eating boxes of Hostess while entertaining Little Debbie simultaneously. Because, PEOPLE, I am the size of a house.
And when someone says to you something about "when the baby comes", it is just as bad to say "oh are you pregnant" to a seven-month-pregnant woman as it is to ask one who is not pregnant when they are due. The former will go home and cry all afternoon, while the latter will commence Hari Kari on your person. Really? It's no different.
I cannot tell you how many times I have heard this statement in the past two months. Prior to that, I was willing to accept that, okay, I was less than five months, and it took me a long time to show when pregnant with the tiny man, so okay...maybe I didn't look pregnant. But now? Now I"m seven months. I'm huge. My belly has actually grown beyond the ... uh ... other frontal appendages I sport, and that's saying something, because the girls? They are impressive. I am the size of a small duplex. And sometimes when I am talking to someone new, and I mention "when the baby comes", they say to me "Oh, are you pregnant?"
I know that many people, me included, believe that it is really really bad to ask anyone if they are pregnant, or when they are expecting. Mostly because you just never know. I have made this error, after garnering what I *thought* were conversational clues indicating the status of a friend's uterus. It was a friend I hadn't seen an awhile, and while she didn't look any different (really, she didn't), I thought I had gotten from the context of the conversation that she was pregnant. And I asked her when she was due. And flames shot from her eyes and singed all the hair off of my body as she said in a voice resembling some satanic demon in a horror movie "I'm not pregnant". The "bitch" at the end was not stated, but implied.
But me? I have a basketball in my stomach right now. I think I look pretty damn pregnant. Apparently other people think I have gained an inordinate amount of weight this summer, and I'm just living the high life, sitting on my couch eating boxes of Hostess while entertaining Little Debbie simultaneously. Because, PEOPLE, I am the size of a house.
And when someone says to you something about "when the baby comes", it is just as bad to say "oh are you pregnant" to a seven-month-pregnant woman as it is to ask one who is not pregnant when they are due. The former will go home and cry all afternoon, while the latter will commence Hari Kari on your person. Really? It's no different.
Saturday, June 16, 2007
Quiet weekend
Something I forgot to mention the other day....R.I.P. Mr. Wizard. I spent many long hours watching you as a kid, and you probably had more influence than I know on my chosen career. Thanks for making Science fun. :)
Spent a day today out garage saleing with J, whom I haven't seen in ages. It's been since freshman year in college that we've been saleing, and it was nice to go again. I found a few treasures at more than reasonable prices, including a german-style clay baker for my kitchen (yummy for stew and pot pie next winter) and a copy of "My Fair Lady" which, for some reason, has been on my "must watch again" list for the past few weeks. Maybe because we are playing selections from it in Band? A set of citronella torches for the garden and handblown wineglasses (for $.15 apiece) rounded out my day. Cheap treasures that I have wanted but couldn't justify buying for full price, serendipity that I found them today.
Came home to clean for our Father's day BBQ tomorrow. I'm exhausted now, ready for some Audrey Hepburn and a glass of water...Yes, a glass of wine would be nice, but the baby gets no wine. :)
Spent a day today out garage saleing with J, whom I haven't seen in ages. It's been since freshman year in college that we've been saleing, and it was nice to go again. I found a few treasures at more than reasonable prices, including a german-style clay baker for my kitchen (yummy for stew and pot pie next winter) and a copy of "My Fair Lady" which, for some reason, has been on my "must watch again" list for the past few weeks. Maybe because we are playing selections from it in Band? A set of citronella torches for the garden and handblown wineglasses (for $.15 apiece) rounded out my day. Cheap treasures that I have wanted but couldn't justify buying for full price, serendipity that I found them today.
Came home to clean for our Father's day BBQ tomorrow. I'm exhausted now, ready for some Audrey Hepburn and a glass of water...Yes, a glass of wine would be nice, but the baby gets no wine. :)
Wednesday, April 25, 2007
All Consuming
It has been a trying week around here, to say the least. You know the kind of week where your mind is constantly consumed by whatever latest crisis has arisen, and you find yourself wasting lots of time just thinking about it? Yeah, that kind of week. In addition to Tiny Man having three nights of bad sleep (Tiny man bad seep = parental bad sleep), he has had a variety of ailments keeping his usually sunny personality pretty cloudy. I've been feeling a little under the weather myself, and have managed to make myself pretty much useless around here lately. Just mopey all around. Lets hope we all snap out of our funks pretty soon.
On the up side, we did get some of the garden in this week (okay, Hubby did the work, I was otherwise occupied)...peas, radishes, fennel and lettuce are in. Tomatoes, basil, various flowers are sprouting from the seed containers on our dining room table. In no time we will have things planted and we'll be ready to go. The herbs are going like gangbusters, even the things which we thought were going to do poorly a year ago (Chammomile and Lavender have come back great). We actually have some things that need to be split this year, which is proof that our little plantings are starting to take off. It's been beautiful weather for walking and being outside, having the windows open in the house. We also got the deck furniture out, so spending afternoons outside is now possible.
Spent an evening with S and M (not until I typed that did I realize how subversive it could be to spend time with my best friends) on Saturday, which was lovely as usual. It's nice to have people you click with no matter how much time passes or what else is going on. It's not like just being able to get out of the house alone, which I do get to do on occasion, it's better, because I get out alone and get to spend time with people I like who get me. What more could anyone want.
Let's hope that the casa de coffeemomma funk clears up this week.
On the up side, we did get some of the garden in this week (okay, Hubby did the work, I was otherwise occupied)...peas, radishes, fennel and lettuce are in. Tomatoes, basil, various flowers are sprouting from the seed containers on our dining room table. In no time we will have things planted and we'll be ready to go. The herbs are going like gangbusters, even the things which we thought were going to do poorly a year ago (Chammomile and Lavender have come back great). We actually have some things that need to be split this year, which is proof that our little plantings are starting to take off. It's been beautiful weather for walking and being outside, having the windows open in the house. We also got the deck furniture out, so spending afternoons outside is now possible.
Spent an evening with S and M (not until I typed that did I realize how subversive it could be to spend time with my best friends) on Saturday, which was lovely as usual. It's nice to have people you click with no matter how much time passes or what else is going on. It's not like just being able to get out of the house alone, which I do get to do on occasion, it's better, because I get out alone and get to spend time with people I like who get me. What more could anyone want.
Let's hope that the casa de coffeemomma funk clears up this week.
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